Unlikely Hero's

 As noted in the last article, the Israelites didn’t s appreciation for the sacrifices that God made for them once they returned to Canaan from Egypt. God provided opportunities for the Israelites to prove there commitment to him by following his commands. They were provided so that the Israelites would show there commitment to the gift that God provided. God wanted the Israelites to appreciate his sacrifice on there behalf. If God just simply gave the land to the them, there would be no appreciation for it since they wouldn’t have to work for it.

Because of the lack of appreciation, the other kingdoms in the area were given the upper hand and gained dominion over the Israelites. The Jabin king had a massive army of chariots which he used to keep the Israelites under control for the next 20 years. Afterwards, they cried out to the Lord for deliverance of the Jabin king.

It’s interesting how God works. God answers our prayers, but never in the way expected. He answers them on his time and in his manner. As noted in the last article, often times, many come and see the Lord as a genie that will grant those three wishes before going back into the lamp. I can suspect that a few others expect God to answer there prayers by making a loud proclamation while descending from the Heavens.

God heard the cries of his children while in Egypt. He answered there prayers by calling upon Moses to deliver them. He would repeat this by answering the prayers of the Israelites by calling upon Deborah. She was a prophet and just another Israelite in the grand scheme of things. She certainly was no expert in the realm of military affairs. However, God still called upon her to lead an army. God was going to deliver the Jabin army into there hands. She called upon Barak, which means “flash” in Hebrew. Maybe he was born in a crossfire hurricane. Maybe his friends called him “Jumpin Jack Barak”. It doesn’t have the same ring to it. Whatever the circumstances of his name, he knew how to rally people behind a cause. He just needed motivation. He wanted to see if Deborah would rally next to him in the heat of the battle. One could liken the relationship between Deborah and Barak as similar to Moses and Arron. They worked off of each other, able to make up for the shortcomings of the other.

Barak called upon Deborah to come with her in the battle. Among some, this might be seen as a lack of faith. Deborah was asking for a big sacrifice, and thus, she needed to be a part of that commitment as well. Was she going to be part of the battle or simply a talking head. Barak insistence that she come could be seen as him calling her to be a part of that commitment as well. Would she demonstrate that she was going to be a part of the cause as well?

She quickly answered with “I will go with you”. There is no reference that she had to dwell upon the situation. She answered quickly. This demonstrates that she was fully committed to God’s plan.

God delivered Deborah and Barak that victory. The rival army, led by a general named Sisera, was routed. At this point, the Israelite Army could have stopped. However, they continued to do there pursuit. To demonstrate total commitment, Barak followed the army a far distance, cutting them down in the process. As noted, not a man was left.

Now, hopefully, God won’t command you to mow down hundreds in his name. However, God looks for those who are going to be committed to him. He called upon Deborah because she would show commitment to him. In return, she called upon Barak because he was going to be committed to both her and to God as well.

We are all called by God to serve him in different ways, sometime unknown to us. God. God does this because his work remains unfinished. However, our particular job will be different from that of somebody else. What God commands one person to do will be complete different from what he will command someone else to do. The needs of each person is different.

All was not complete. Sisera was still alive, along with the Jabin kingdom. Fleeing the battle, Sisera fled into the tent of Jael, who was the wife of Heber the Kenite. He went there because the kingdoms were in alliance. In the tent, he requested Jael to get him something to drink. He was given milk skin, which he drank. Hiding from Barak, he asked Jael to stand by the tent entrance as he took a nap. He did. However, once he fell asleep, Jael took a temple, or a spike, and went to him, and driven it into his head, killing him instantly. Sisera was as you could say “Crowned with a spike right thru his head”. Now that’s something that shouldn’t be animated into a kids Bible cartoon even though I would pay money to see that! It would have been funny if she stood Sisera up afterwards and posted a portrait-sized picture with the back wire held using the head spike, thus covering his head .

Anyway, Barak arrived shortly at the camp thereafter. He went towards the tent when he was greeted by Jael. She showed him the body afterwards. After that, God subdued the Jabin king until he was killed as well.

Sisera let his guard down. He assumed that because he was in alliance with the Kenites, that he was safe. It has to be noted that the Kenites had dealings with the Israelites as well. Thus, Sisera arrangement on convenience went against him because he failed to take the Kenitie’s relationship with the Israelites into consideration.

As noted, Barak wouldn’t be receiving glory for the victory because it was God who determined the conditions of victory and was him who played the deciding factor. Deborah wouldn’t be receiving glory either as her victory was delivered by God. God is the one who drives out victories.

Hopefully, God won’t call upon people to drive wooden stakes into other people Dracula style. However, God’s work remains unfinished. Even if one finishes that particular job, there will be another one to take its place. For Deborah, this was delivering God’s people from the Jabin king. For us, it could be something else. Hopefully though, God’s calling won’t require driving stakes into people!